Tracked radial stacker with wheels

ABSTRACT

A tracked, portable radial stacker for stockpiling bulk material is provided. It includes a linear conveyor having a rear portion and a front portion and being designed to carry bulk material from a low position adjacent the rear portion to a higher position adjacent the front portion. A continuous track system is provided which includes a frame to which the conveyor is mounted, the track system including a pair of driven, parallel tracks designed to contact the ground to convey the stacker from one position to another, and to be lifted off the ground when desired. A pair of wheels are mounted to the frame, the wheels being moveable between a raised position in which they do not contact the ground and a lowered position in which they lift the tracks off the ground as they engage the ground, enabling the conveyor to be moved about the ground on the wheels.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present continuation application claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/427,091, filed Nov. 28, 2016, and U.S.Non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 15/640,134, filed Jun. 30,2017 entitled “Tracked Radial Stacker with Wheels,” the entiredisclosures of which is incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments herein relate to systems for moving conveyors, usually ofthe belt-type, used to convey bulk material from a screening or crushingplant to a location where such material is stacked.

BACKGROUND

Portable radial stackers have been used for many years to stack bulkmaterials such as aggregate for road construction, grain and coal.Radial stackers, which swing around in a radius to stack material in anarc, permit substantially more material to be stacked than is possibleusing a conventional stationary stacker that permits only a conicalstack. Telescoping radial stackers permit even more material to bestacked as the stacker is extended or retracted during conveyingoperations.

Radial stackers typically include a wheeled axle disposed between ahopper and the top of the stacker from which the material is discharged.These wheels permit the stacker to be swung in an arc, with the hopperincluding a pivot plate on which the stacker pivots.

An additional advantage of having a wheeled radial stacker is that thestacker may be folded over itself and be ready for road transport inrelatively little time, as the wheels that are used for radial travelcan be displaced into a position aligned with the stacker to support thestacker for travel.

In recent years, tracked drives have been used in quarries, agriculturaland mining operations to enable equipment to be moved over harsh terrainfor ideal positioning for stacking operations. While tracked vehicleshave proven to be of great benefit for such purposes, the use of tracksinstead of wheels makes it more difficult to shift a stacker radially tofacilitate the stacking of material in an arc instead of a cone. Also,because tracked vehicles are not typically permitted to be driven onroad surfaces, they are normally loaded onto flatbed trucks for transitfrom one work site to another. These two drawbacks with the use oftracks has to a certain extent limited the use of tracked vehicles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will be readily understood by the following detaileddescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and theappended claims. Embodiments are illustrated by way of example, and notby way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an embodiment with the wheels in theirlowered position, ready for radial repositioning of the stacker;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the embodiment of FIG. 1, showing thewheels in their lowered position in contact with the ground and with thetracks elevated off the ground;

FIG. 3 is an end elevation view of a portion of the embodiment of FIG. 1taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2, showing the wheels in their loweredposition and, in phantom, in their raised position;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the embodiment of FIG. 1, showing thewheels in their raised position and the tracks supporting the stacker,with the stacker collapsed over itself for travel around the job site orelsewhere;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 1, showing wheelslowered to a 90 degree position for lateral travel, and including atrack system mounted to the hopper for repositioning the entire stackerin a lateral direction;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation view of the embodiment of FIG. 1,corresponding with FIG. 5, including a schematic representation of abarge into which the stacker might be loading material as it islaterally moved from one position to another;

FIG. 7 is an end elevation view of a portion of the embodiment of FIG.1, showing the position of the wheels being controlled by hydrauliccylinders and in their lowered position in contact with the ground;

FIG. 7A is a variation of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-11 showing thewheels in a lowered, longitudinal position ready to be shiftedlongitudinally at the work site or to be driven down a road, with thetrack lifted off the ground;

FIG. 8 is an end elevation view of a portion of the embodiment of FIG.1, corresponding to FIG. 7, showing the position of the wheels beingcontrolled by hydraulic cylinders but in their raised position elevatedfrom the ground, and rotated 90 degrees;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary top plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 1corresponding to FIG. 7 with the wheels in their lowered position, readyfor radial repositioning of the stacker, with the wheels being poweredby a hydraulic planetary drive;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary end elevation view corresponding to that ofFIG. 7 showing a single wheel, with the wheel being chain-driven;

FIG. 11 corresponds to that of FIG. 10 except that instead of a chaindrive, it shows a hydraulic planetary drive;

FIG. 12 is a top plan view showing a slightly different, double-wheeledembodiment, with the wheels in their lowered position, ready for radialrepositioning;

FIG. 13 is a side elevation view corresponding to FIG. 12, with thewheels in their lowered position and the track elevated off the ground,ready for radial repositioning;

FIG. 14 is a side elevation view of the embodiment of FIG. 12 with thewheels in their lowered, longitudinal position supporting the tracksabove the road for travel, and with the rear end mounted to a tractorfifth wheel;

FIG. 15 is a top plan view corresponding to FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a top plan view of a portion of the embodiment of FIG. 12showing double wheels in their lowered, longitudinal position ready forroad travel;

FIG. 17 is a top plan view corresponding to FIG. 16 except that thedouble wheels are in their lowered position ready for radialdisplacement of the stacker;

FIG. 18 is a side elevation view of a portion of the embodiment of FIG.12 with double wheels in their raised position and the track on theground ready for travel around a job site or elsewhere;

FIG. 18A is an enlarged side elevation view corresponding to FIG. 18except that the wheels are shown in their lowered, longitudinal positionready for longitudinal displacement down a road or elsewhere; and

FIG. 19 is a fragmentary top plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 12 withthe double wheels in a lowered, 90 degree lateral position showing atracked bogie disposed below the hopper, ready to move the stacker in alateral direction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DISCLOSED EMBODIMENTS

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which are shownby way of illustration embodiments that may be practiced. It is to beunderstood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural orlogical changes may be made without departing from the scope. Therefore,the following detailed description is not to be taken in a limitingsense.

Various operations may be described as multiple discrete operations inturn, in a manner that may be helpful in understanding embodiments.However, the order of description should not be construed to imply thatthese operations are order-dependent.

The description may use perspective-based descriptions such as up/down,back/front, and top/bottom. Such descriptions are merely used tofacilitate the discussion and are not intended to restrict theapplication of disclosed embodiments.

The terms “coupled” and “connected,” along with their derivatives, maybe used. It should be understood that these terms are not intended assynonyms for each other. Rather, in particular embodiments, “connected”may be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physicalor electrical contact with each other. “Coupled” may mean that two ormore elements are in direct physical or electrical contact. However,“coupled” may also mean that two or more elements are not in directcontact with each other, but yet still cooperate or interact with eachother.

For the purposes of the description, a phrase in the form “A/B” or inthe form “A and/or B” means (A), (B), or (A and B). For the purposes ofthe description, a phrase in the form “at least one of A, B, and C”means (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C), or (A, B and C).For the purposes of the description, a phrase in the form “(A)B” means(B) or (AB) that is, A is an optional element.

The description may use the terms “embodiment” or “embodiments,” whichmay each refer to one or more of the same or different embodiments.Furthermore, the terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” and thelike, as used with respect to embodiments, are synonymous, and aregenerally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should beinterpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” shouldbe interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should beinterpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.).

With respect to the use of any plural and/or singular terms herein,those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to thesingular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to thecontext and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations maybe expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

A tracked, portable radial stacker for stockpiling bulk material isprovided. It includes a linear conveyor having a rear portion and afront portion and being designed to carry bulk material from a lowposition adjacent the rear portion to a higher position adjacent thefront portion. A continuous track system is provided which includes aframe to which the conveyor is mounted, the track system including apair of driven, parallel tracks designed to contact the ground to conveythe stacker from one position to another, and to be lifted off theground when desired. A pair of wheels are mounted to the frame, thewheels being moveable between a raised position in which they do notcontact the ground and a lowered position in which they lift the tracksoff the ground as they engage the ground, enabling the conveyor to bemoved about the ground on the wheels.

A pair of hydraulic wheel displacement cylinders may be provided, eachof which moves a wheel between the raised and lowered positions.

The wheels may be provided with a capability to be swiveled betweenlaterally-extending and longitudinally-extending positions when they arein a raised position so the conveyor can be moved in either a lateral orlongitudinal direction when the wheels engage the ground and lift thetracks off the ground.

Each of the wheels may be mounted to a post that is rotatably mounted tothe frame to facilitate swiveling the wheels.

Another way to describe the disclosure is as a tracked, portable radialstacker for stockpiling bulk material including a linear conveyor havinga rear portion and a front portion and being designed to carry bulkmaterial from a low position adjacent the rear portion to a higherposition adjacent the front portion, with a continuous track systemincluding a frame to which the conveyor is mounted. The track systemincludes a pair of driven, parallel tracks designed to contact theground to convey the stacker from one position to another, and to belifted off the ground when desired. A pair of longitudinally-extendingwheels may be mounted to the frame, the wheels being moveable between araised position in which they do not contact the ground and a firstlowered position in which they engage the ground and lift the tracks offthe ground, enabling the conveyor to be moved in a longitudinaldirection once the wheels engage the ground and lift the tracks off theground. With this version, the pair of wheels may be are rotatablymounted to the frame such that they can swivel from a position in whichthey are longitudinally disposed to one in which they are laterallydisposed with respect to the conveyor. This way they can be lowered to asecond lowered position in which they engage the ground to facilitatelateral conveyance of the conveyor.

Alternatively, a system for raising and lowering a tracked bogie usedwith a stacker for stacking bulk materials may be provided. In thissystem, a stacker is provided that includes a linear conveyor havingfront and rear portions, the front and rear portions being displaceablebetween elevating and generally horizontal positions. A bogie may beprovided that has a pair of continuous tracks designed to contact theground to convey the stacker from one position to another, the tracks tobe lifted off the ground when desired. A pair of laterally-extendingwheels may be mounted to the bogie that are displaceable both upwardlyand downwardly. A hydraulic cylinder system mounted between the bogieand the wheels controls the position of the wheels and displaces themupwardly and downwardly with respect to the bogie, such that bydisplacing the wheels to a first lowered position, the tracks areelevated off the ground and the stacker is ready to be laterallyrepositioned.

The wheels in this last-described system may be rotatably mounted to theframe such that they can swivel from the position in which they arelaterally-extending to one in which they are longitudinally-extending sothey can be lowered to a second lowered position in which they engagethe ground and elevate the tracks off the ground, to facilitatelongitudinal repositioning of the conveyor.

A tracked stacker is identified generally at 10 in the figures. FIGS. 1and 2 show stacker 10 to be ready to be radially shifted (sometimesreferred to herein as “lateral movement” or “laterally”). Stacker 10includes a conveyor, indicated generally at 12, a track system,indicated generally at 14, and a wheel system, indicated generally at16. A system for elevating and lowering stacker 10, indicated generallyat 18, is shown in FIG. 3, taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

More specifically, conveyor 12 may include a hopper 20, a main conveyorportion 22 and a discharge end 24. The depicted conveyor includes ajoint 26, which may permit the conveyor to double back over itself asshown in FIG. 4 to facilitate road travel. Hydraulic cylinders 28 may beprovided at either side of conveyor 12 to facilitate the pivot actionand control the position of discharge end 24 relative to main conveyorportion 22. Rollers 30 are typically included to guide a belt, which hasbeen deleted from the figures to better show the features of theconveyor. A pivot point 32 may be provided under hopper 20 to facilitatethe radial shifting of the conveyor. Pivot point 32 is typicallydesigned to be readily replaced with a fifth wheel king pin mount 33(see FIG. 14) to be mounted to a tractor for transport to another site,as will be explained more fully as this discussion continues.

Conveyor 12 is designed to be disposed in various angular positions forvarious levels of stacking and for transit. This capability may befacilitated by a pair of support frames disposed at each end of mainportion 22 of the conveyor. These support frames also help raise andlower track system 14, as will be explained more fully below. Rearsupport frames 34 extend from track system 14 to the underside ofrearward aspect of main portion 22 of the conveyor. Normally, rearsupport frames 34 will be of telescoping construction. One of the rearsupport frames 34 may be disposed on each lateral side of conveyor 12 toprovide sufficient support and balance to the conveyor. A pair of rearintermediate support frames 36 may also be included, and in the depictedembodiment extend from a track system mounting frame 38 to the undersiderear aspect of main portion 22 of the conveyor. Rear intermediatesupport frames 36 may also be telescoping, but typically are not.

Rear support frames 34 may be provided with hydraulic rams 39 to providepower to reposition the rear support frames and to raise and lower therear end of conveyor 12 to permit stacker 10 to be repositioned to lowerthe tracks to the ground and to facilitate mounting of king pin 33 to afifth wheel of a tractor. Rear support frames 34 may also be providedwith pegs and complementing holes (not shown) to fix the support framein position during operations when the hydraulic rams are not changingthe position of the rear support frames.

A pair of front support frames 40 may also be provided to extend fromtrack system 14 to the underside of a forward aspect of main portion 22of the conveyor. Front support frames 40 are normally telescoping inconfiguration. One of the front support frames 40 may be disposed oneach lateral side of conveyor 12 to provide sufficient support andbalance to the conveyor. Front support frames 40 are normally providedwith hydraulic rams 41 to provide power to reposition the supportframes, and may be provided with pegs and complementing holes (notshown) to fix the support frame in position during operations when thehydraulic rams are not changing the position of the front support frame.

Track system 14 is conventional in that it includes a pair of continuoustracks 42 mounted to track system mounting frame 38. Tracks 42 aredriven by an engine through either a mechanical transmission orhydraulic drive. The drive typically provides the capability ofreversibility to maximize the maneuverability of the unit.

A bogie 44 for wheel system 16 is shown best in FIG. 3. Wheel system 16typically includes a pair of wheels 46, although in FIGS. 12-19, in aslightly different embodiment, a pair of coaxial wheels 47 are depicted.However, coaxial wheels 47 will be sometimes described herein as thoughthey are a single wheel. Because the embodiment of FIGS. 12-19 isslightly different in the arrangement of the wheels but the rest of thestacker is the same, the numbers for this slightly different embodimenthave are not different from the numbers in embodiment 1-11.

When in their lowered, lateral position (ready for either radial or 90degree displacement of stacker 10) shown in FIGS. 1-3, 5-7, 9, 12-13, 17and 19, wheels 46 or 47 support tracks 42 in an elevated position. Withthe wheels in the radial or lateral position, stacker 10 can be drivenin a radial or lateral direction to provide a second conical stack ofbulk material, or to provide additional stacks in an arc. With thewheels in a 90 degree lateral position, and pivot point 32 or king pin33 mounted to a tracked bogie, such as that shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 19,the stacks can take the form on a long pile, or the stacker can be usedto fill one or more barges, trucks or rail cars. The additional trackedbogie 66 may be used to reposition a stacker for longitudinaldisplacement by shifting the additional bogie and wheels 47 by 90degrees if for some reason that is preferable to operating the stackerthrough longitudinal movement of the tracks 42 of bogie 44.

To provide power drive to wheels 46 or 47, a chain drive 62 may beincluded as shown schematically in FIG. 10 or a hydraulic planetarydrive motor 64 as shown in FIGS. 9 and 11.

After stacker 10 is properly positioned, wheels 46 can be translated toa raised position in which they no longer contact the ground, one ofsuch positions being shown in FIGS. 3 (in phantom) and 8. In this raisedposition, wheels 46 also may rotate approximately 90 degrees, to thedepicted position such that the axes of the wheels extend laterally ofstacker 10. This rotation may be effected using hydraulics or some otherpower means or may be performed manually with pegs and complementingholes (not show).

The raised position of wheels 47 is shown in FIG. 18, although they mayalternatively be raised from one of their lateral (radial or 90 degree)positions.

When wheels 46 are in their raised positions, tracks 42 contact theground to ensure maximum maneuverability around the job site. Withwheels 46 well up and out of the way as depicted in FIG. 3, there islittle risk of the wheels and their tires being damaged despite therough environment in which the stacker is operating. Wheels 46 are eachsupported by a leg 50, and are outfitted with a web 52. A hydrauliccylinder 54 extends between each of the two webs 52 of wheels 46 andbogie 44. The pair of hydraulic cylinders 54 maintain the two wheels intheir lowered and raised positions, although pegs with complementingapertures (not shown) or other support means may also be included.

As shown in FIG. 7A, an additional set of hydraulic cylinders 55 may beincluded to pivot wheels 46 clockwise from the position shown in FIG. 4to one in which the wheels contact the ground to raise tracks 42 off theground. This longitudinal disposition of wheels 46 would to permitstacker 10 to be pulled down the road from one site to another.

The arrangement shown in FIGS. 12-19 is slightly different in that eachwheel 47 includes a slightly different leg 56 that may be mounted to avertical post 58. Post 58 may be rotatably mounted to bogie 44 so thatwheels 47 may be swiveled from the longitudinal positions shown, forexample, in FIG. 16, to the radial, lateral position shown in FIG. 17,or the 90 degree, lateral position. This swiveling may be performedmanually or may be provided by a hydraulic motor or hydraulic cylinderdrive. Wheels 47, legs 56 and posts 58 may also be provided with ahydraulic cylinders 60 for raising and lowering wheels 47.

Thus, with wheels 47 elevated off the ground as shown in FIG. 18, post58 may be swiveled to a 90 degree lateral position or to a radialposition such as that shown in FIG. 17. Wheels 47 may then be lowered tothe ground and, powered by hydraulic cylinders 60, can then raise tracks42 off the ground. Stacker 10 then is ready to be maneuvered around thejob site if wheels 47 are in a lateral position as shown in FIG. 12, 13or 17 or can be pulled to another site if wheels 47 are in alongitudinal position as shown in FIGS. 16 and 18A. As describedearlier, pegs and complementing apertures (not shown), or other fixationsystems, might be included to lock the wheels in their lowered or raisedpositions.

Once the stacker has reached its destination, in order to prepare thestacker for operations, king pin mount 33 would first be disconnectedfrom the fifth wheel of the tractor and would be replaced with pivotpoint 32. Any positioning pegs or other fixation means in hydrauliccylinders 50 would be removed and wheels 46 would be raised to theirposition shown in FIG. 4 or 18. This permits tracks 42 to be lowered tothe ground so they now support stacker 10. Hydraulic cylinders 28 maythen be operated to cause conveyor discharge end 24 to be pivoted fromthe position shown in FIG. 4, and hydraulic cylinder 41 in front supportframes 40 is extended so conveyor 12 takes the position shown in FIGS.2, 6 and 13.

If it is desired to move stacker 10 radially, either before, after orduring this operation to raise the front of the conveyor, wheels 46 maybe lowered from the raised position to the lowered position shown inFIG. 3. This may be done by extending hydraulic cylinders 54 until theyreach the position depicted in solid lines in FIG. 3. This will raisetracks 42 off the ground as shown in FIG. 2. Or, if the radial positionof stacker 12 is where it is desired, wheels 46 may be maintained intheir raised position.

During operations, it is up to the operator to decide if the tracks orthe wheels are in contact with the ground; that is, whether the wheelsare in their raised position with the tracks in contact with the groundor in their lowered position, with the tracks elevated from contact withthe ground. It is also up to the operator to decide, if the wheels aredown, whether they be in a radial or longitudinal position. In anyevent, the operator is provided with a number of options.

With the embodiment of FIGS. 12-19, to move stacker radially, eitherbefore, after or during the unfolding operation of the conveyor, wheels47 and their legs 56 can be swiveled on posts 58 and then lowered byhydraulic cylinders 54. This will raise tracks 42 off the ground asshown in FIG. 13. Or, if the radial position of stacker 12 is where itis desired, wheels 47 may be maintained in their raised position,depending upon whether the operator wants to perform conveyingoperations with tracks 42 or wheels 47 on the ground supporting thestacker. When operations are completed and stacker 10 is to be moved toanother site, hydraulic cylinders 54 raise legs 56 and wheels 47, posts58 are swiveled to position wheels 47 longitudinally, and the cylinderscan then lower the wheels to the position shown in FIGS. 14, 15 and 18A.Conveyor discharge end 24 is then pivoted through the operation ofcylinders 28 to the position shown in FIG. 14 while cylinder 41 lowersthat front end of the conveyor. In some instances, cylinders 39 may needto be operated to raise the rear end of conveyor 12 as necessary tofacilitate the replacement of pivot point 32 with king pin mount 33, andposition stacker 10 on the fifth wheel of the tractor as shown in FIG.14.

Although certain embodiments have been illustrated and described herein,it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a widevariety of alternate and/or equivalent embodiments or implementationscalculated to achieve the same purposes may be substituted for theembodiments shown and described without departing from the scope. Thosewith skill in the art will readily appreciate that embodiments may beimplemented in a very wide variety of ways. This application is intendedto cover any adaptations or variations of the embodiments discussedherein. Therefore, it is manifestly intended that embodiments be limitedonly by the claims and the equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. The A tracked, portable radial stacker forstockpiling bulk material, comprising: a linear conveyor having a rearportion and a front portion and being designed to carry bulk materialfrom a low position adjacent the rear portion to a higher positionadjacent the front portion; a continuous track system including a frameto which the conveyor is mounted, the track system including a firstpair of driven, parallel tracks designed to contact the ground to conveythe stacker from one position to another, and to be lifted off theground when desired; and a pair of wheels mounted to the frame which aremoveable between a raised position in which they do not contact theground, permitting the tracks to contact the ground to convey thestacker from one position to another on the tracks, and a loweredposition in which the wheels lift the tracks off the ground as theyengage the ground, enabling the conveyor to be moved about the ground onthe wheels, wherein the pair of wheels may be swiveled betweenlaterally-extending and longitudinally-extending positions when thewheels are in the raised position so that the radial stacker can beconveyed either laterally or longitudinally when the wheels engage theground and lift the tracks off the ground.
 2. The radial stacker ofclaim 1 wherein each of the wheels is mounted to a post that isrotatably mounted to the frame.
 3. A tracked, portable radial stackerfor stockpiling bulk material, comprising: a linear conveyor having arear portion and a front portion and being designed to carry bulkmaterial from a low position adjacent the rear portion to a higherposition adjacent the front portion; a continuous track system includinga frame to which the conveyor is mounted, the track system including apair of driven, parallel tracks designed to contact the ground to conveythe stacker from one position to another, and to be lifted off theground when desired; a pair of longitudinally-extending wheels mountedto the frame which are moveable between a raised position in which thewheels do not contact the ground, permitting the tracks to contact theground to convey the stacker from one position to another on the tracks,and a first lowered position in which the wheels engage the ground andlift the tracks off the ground, enabling the conveyor to be moved on thewheels in a longitudinal direction once the wheels engage the ground. 4.The radial stacker of claim 3, wherein the pair of wheels are rotatablymounted to the frame such that the wheels can swivel from a position inwhich the wheels are longitudinally disposed to one in which the wheelsare laterally disposed with respect to the conveyor, and so the wheelscan be lowered to a second lowered position in which the wheels engagethe ground to facilitate lateral conveyance of the conveyor.
 5. Theradial stacker of claim 3, further comprising at least one rotatablesupport disposed adjacent the rear portion of the conveyor forsupporting the rear end of the stacker and facilitating further movementof the stacker on the rotatable support.
 6. The radial stacker of claim5 wherein the at least one rotatable support can be shifted by 90degrees to facilitate either lateral or longitudinal movement of thestacker on the rotatable support.
 7. The radial stacker of claim 6wherein the rotatable support disposed adjacent the rear portion of theconveyor comprises a second pair of continuous tracks.
 8. The radialstacker of claim 6 wherein the at least one rotatable support can beshifted by 90 degrees to facilitate either lateral or longitudinalmovement of the rear portion of the conveyor.
 9. A tracked, portableradial stacker for stockpiling bulk material, comprising: a linearconveyor having a rear portion and a front portion and being designed tocarry bulk material from a low position adjacent the rear portion to ahigher position adjacent the front portion; a continuous track systemincluding a frame to which the conveyor is mounted, the track systemincluding a first pair of driven, parallel tracks designed to contactthe ground to convey the stacker from one position to another, and to belifted off the ground when desired; and a pair of wheels mounted to theframe which are moveable between a raised position in which they do notcontact the ground, permitting the tracks to contact the ground toconvey the stacker from one position to another on the tracks, and alowered position in which the wheels lift the tracks off the ground asthey engage the ground, enabling the conveyor to be moved about theground on the wheels, further comprising a second pair of driven,continuous tracks disposed adjacent the rear portion of the conveyor forsupporting the rear end of the stacker and facilitating movement of theconveyor.
 10. The tracked radial stacker of claim 9 wherein the secondpair of continuous tracks can be shifted by 90 degrees to facilitateeither lateral or longitudinal movement of the stacker.
 11. A tracked,portable radial stacker for stockpiling bulk material, comprising: alinear conveyor having a rear portion and a front portion and beingdesigned to carry bulk material from a low position adjacent the rearportion to a higher position adjacent the front portion; a continuoustrack system including a frame to which the conveyor is mounted, thetrack system including a first pair of driven, parallel tracks designedto contact the ground to convey the stacker from one position toanother, and to be lifted off the ground when desired; a pair of wheelsmounted to the frame which are moveable between a raised position inwhich they do not contact the ground, permitting the tracks to contactthe ground to convey the stacker from one position to another on thetracks, and a lowered position in which the wheels lift the tracks offthe ground as they engage the ground, enabling the conveyor to be movedabout the ground on the wheels; and at least one support disposedadjacent the rear portion of the conveyor for supporting the rear end ofthe stacker and facilitating movement of the stacker, wherein the atleast one support can be shifted by 90 degrees to facilitate eitherlateral or longitudinal movement of the stacker.